You really don't have a choice. It comes down to cost to repair vs cost to total. Once the estimate is written they will compare that to what it will cost to pay the value of the car.

 

It does hurt to see that. I also have a 14 Evo I bought last Feb. I'm glad you're ok. I'm not sure about whether it will be totalled or not. I had an accident many years ago when I was younger that looked about that bad, and it wasn't totaled, to my surprise. That was a while ago however.

 

Well looking back it, you have your cars value on your side. When I first purchased my Caliber SRT4 back in 2008. I had only had the car for 3 or four months when a Semi decided to put me into a wall. It was nearly 16K in damage and my car was not totaled and it lasted me 6 years after that of hard driving and racing and modifications until I traded it in on my EVO. So in the event its not totaled just make sure you to take it to a reputable shop that knows EVOs and have it done right.

 

Actually another good point. A lot of Body shops don't do the mechanical work like suspension. They farm it out. You can let the insurance company and body shop know where you want that done. Insurance can balk a little if your mechanic charges WAY too much for labor but you can always talk with your mechanic first. They are getting business and they get a markup on the parts they order for your car so if they are a little to high for the insurance maybe they wil work with you.

 

Totalled. That frame is rocked.

 

Lol they don't total based on "rocked frame rail" they are easily replaced. The top rail is just the apron support. The bottom is just a rail that welds onto the firewall area.

Not sure where that bad info started regarding bent frames mean a car is totaled. Even on a true framed car like a truck they can pull the frames straight on a frame rack. All the airbags going off totals cars more than damaged frames. Airbags are what cost a ton.

 

I'm not saying they won't fix this car correctly, but the negative impact this has on the cars history is hard to make up for even with diminished value being returned to you.

Resale on this is going to suffer greatly.

Now if you plan on keeping it for the long haul and expect to get a huge check maybe this is the better route for you. (I don't keep vehicles long)

Me though, I'd be starting over. I'm good on chancing 2nd time around airbags and safety measures that have already been compromised. Sure you can say it is good as new, but you never really know.

Hope for the totaling, you'll be happy you did.

 

Not all accidents get reported to carfax. About the only thing those are good for is to see if salvaged title.

The airbags aren't compromised. Once repaired it's the same stuff that came from the factory where humans work just like repair shops. They can be trusted just as much as you can trust something from the factory. A car is a pretty basic piece of machinery. Nuts, bolts, welds, plug a few wires in. Choose a good shop and it's as good as new. We trust Evo shops to replace and install parts, body shops are the same thing but with sheet metal.

 

Once this thing goes through insurance with a police report, you can pretty much guarantee it will show up on carfax.

There is a serious reason why when mulitiple airbags on a vehicle are replaced, the cars value is cut by 20-50% with a rebuilt title.

 

You want the car totaled. Mechanics usually cannot fix the car back to mint condition, if the frame is damage you may get the car creeking etc., also you have the option of getting a new car if you are bored of the Evo. There are cars that get better fuel mileage which was my personal gripe about AWD.

cars I recommend:

VW Golf GTI
Mazdaspeed 3
Hyundai Genesis

 

i think you are comparing it to if the car becomes a salvage title(rebuilt title) which is way different from them just fixing it. If they total it and you fix it back up and get it drivable then that would be a salvage title. I am not sure why you would just want to total the car as long as you take it to a good shop you will not have anything to worry about. And good shops stand behind there work with warranties to back these things up.

 

Again, I am not saying it is going to have a salvage title, the damage does not look like it is going to warrant as such.

What I am saying is the car is going to be worth significantly less with multiple airbags deployed in it's history.

A good shop has nothing to do with the cars value after a major hit like this.

 

Well, they are supposed to look at it today. If it's not totaled and they decide to fix it instead, I'm thinking of replacing most of the body panels with aftermarket stuff.

The hood is a given: http://www.maperformance.com/seibon-...ood-evo-x.html

Front lip is also a given: http://www.maperformance.com/seibon-...lip-evo-x.html

Not sure about these, but side skirts will need replaced too... http://www.maperformance.com/seibon-...rts-evo-x.html

Carbon fiber fenders? Anyone have these? http://www.maperformance.com/seibon-...der-evo-x.html

So, as I said, first 2 are a given, but the last 2 I'm not sure. Are the CF fenders better than the OEMs? Are they lighter or about the same? Has anyone had any of these parts?

 

Even more important than any after market parts is this:

Depreciated value. Please make sure you get a fair amount on top of all repairs to cover the losses you will sustain from having a car hit this severely.

Good luck to you.

 

They only had state minimum coverage, which is $5000. I guess my insurance is picking up the rest. Not sure how I'd do that?